President Donald Trump isn't dismissing the possibility that he could declare a national security emergency in an attempt to establish new voting restrictions that have stalled in the Senate, telling an interviewer that "stranger things have happened."
The depositions ordered unsealed on Tuesday pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act formed the basis for two since-dismissed perjury counts of a superseding indictment brought against Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and longtime sex trafficking partner, Ghislaine Maxwell.
President Trump's outside advisers -- individuals who are not employed by the federal government - may now be protected from future congressional and legal investigations, according to a new opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. read more
Ars Technica writes about how coupling road cameras with bluetooth signals could be used to track people and phones together. read more
Its second-quarter net loss jumped to $238.1 million from about $20 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. read more
Related ...
Less than 2.5% of Taylor Farms' recalled lettuce went to Taco Bells
arstechnica.com
... Although shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants has been a prime suspect in an explosive outbreak of the diarrheal parasite Cyclospora, a new report from the Food and Drug Administration finally reveals where all the contaminated lettuce was sold -- and only a sliver of it went to Taco Bell locations. ...
The FDA's Enforcement Report finally provides some answers: Taylor Farms recalled 236,192 cases of lettuce due to potential Cyclospora contamination. Of those, only 5,900 -- just shy of 2.5 percent -- were sold to Yum, the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.
The other 97.5 percent of the lettuce that potentially sickened Americans was distributed elsewhere.
Walmart -- under its brand Marketside -- received the lion's share, 109,476 cases, a little over 46 percent. The second-largest lot went to Taylor Farms' own brand, which received 68,897 cases, a little over 29 percent.
The remaining 25 percent went to various food service entities and two restaurants. Cross Valley Farms, a brand from US Foods with the tagline "Fresh Produce Sourced and Selected With Strict Standards," received 19,016 cases (8 percent). Sysco received 11,519 cases (4.9 percent), Markon got 7,459 cases (3.15 percent), and Peak Fresh Produce (Performance Foodservice) got 720 cases (0.3 percent).
The restaurant chains besides Taco Bell were Subway, which received 8,075 cases (3.4 percent), and Jack in the Box, which received 5,130 cases (about 2.2 percent). ...
ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks
apnews.com
... Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.
ICE plans to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices" for officers and agents by March, according to a notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The devices are known as the G.L.O.V.E., which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. They have been used in recent years by some jails and police departments.
DHS said Tuesday that it was working on a response to an Associated Press inquiry and offered no immediate comment. Jeff Niklaus, the founder and CEO of Compliant Technologies, wrote in an email, "Unfortunately, we are unable to speak on this subject."
The notice said the solicitation for a no-bid contract could be published as early as Friday. ...
House Democrats probe DOJ's botched Reflecting Pool case against former Olympian
courthousenews.com
... A top House lawmaker on Tuesday opened an investigation into the Justice Department's ill-fated prosecution of a former Olympic canoeist it accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, days after the agency dropped the case and admitted it lacked evidence.
A federal judge last week dismissed the suit against David Hearn after the Justice Department acknowledged that the new liner in the Reflecting Pool had failed because of a "botched installation" rather than intentional destruction.
Now, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has demanded the Trump administration explain whether it knew shoddy workmanship was to blame before it accused Hearn of tearing up the pool liner.
"Did the United States Attorney's Office for D.C. in fact maliciously prosecute an American citizen it knew to be innocent with a felony charge carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison?" the lawmaker wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. "Did the U.S. Department of the Interior ... deliberately mislead prosecutors to cover up a botched' renovation by a company awarded a dubious $15 million insider no-bid contract?" ...
The timing of this DoJ opinion is curious.
There's a case that has become active in recent days ...
The ABA Wants The White House's Receipts On The Biglaw Executive Orders (July 9, 2026)
abovethelaw.com
... In a Tuesday filing in American Bar Association v. Executive Office of the President, the ABA asked U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to force the White House to hand over internal communications, including those involving Bannon and Boris Epshteyn, Trump's personal senior counsel. According to reporting, Epshteyn connected two firms that struck deals with the administration, Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden, with the Commerce Department on matters related to U.S. trade negotiations. ...
... and ...
Trump demands 'executive privilege' for private 'psychiatrist' and fixer (August 10, 2026)
www.alternet.org
... President Donald Trump is trying to extend the concept of executive privilege, which solely protects the president and official appointees, to his so-called "kitchen cabinet" " that is, outside advisers who simply provide him with guidance.
"As court fight brews over demands for testimony and records from outside Trump advisers like Boris Epshteyn, DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel issues opinion arguing executive privilege extends to Kitchen Cabinet," Politico's Josh Gerstein argued on Monday. ...
In June Trump joked that Epshteyn, a lawyer and political strategist who has long been part of his inner circle, as his "psychiatrist." He is also regarded as a central figure in formulating the president's legal strategies, for instance by playing a crucial role as a go-between interacting with law firms that Trump pressured into providing free pro bono work in return for not facing retaliation from the White House. At the same time, Epshteyn has also been accused of personally profiting from his close relationship with the president, even being investigated by some of Trump's other attorneys for that exact reason.
Because Epshteyn is close to Trump, the president is apparently concerned that efforts to compel the lawyer to testify about potential criminal conduct could hurt him.
This sweeping expansion of executive privilege marks a significant departure from historic legal norms, as courts have traditionally restricted this confidentiality shield to formal government employees to maintain public accountability. Critics argue that extending these protections to private citizens creates a dangerous loophole, allowing outside influencers to shape national policy in total secrecy. ...
Another view ...
Trump signs bonkers order that cuts vaccines, promotes ones that don't exist
arstechnica.com
... Trump falsely claimed the MMR vaccine is "quite lethal" and linked shots to autism. ...
During a signing event at the White House on Monday afternoon, Trump falsely claimed that pediatricians "have a vaccination that looks like the size of a bottle of soda," that is "poured into a little child's body, and bad things happen in too many cases. This is an explosion; this is an epidemic," Trump said. ...
@#1 ... "Let me put an idea in your head, OK?" Root said ...
That idea is likely already there ...
Trump Reportedly Mulling Plan to Declare National Emergency' Paving Way for Major Power Grab (February 2026)
www.newsbreak.com